Digimon Con 2023 took place on 23rd December this year. The hosts were joined by the Digimon Card Game’s producer, Kouhei Murata. After rounding off the results of the various Japanese and international competitions across the 2023 Championship.

There has been much speculation about a brand new Digimon simulator and fans were waiting on the announcement. They didn’t have to wait long and just 3 minutes into the stream, Digimon Liberator was revealed.

It’s Not a Simulator

Being digitally focused, many assumed that the project would be a Digimon TCG simulator. The line from the trailer “What’s important is still the same even if its shape has changed” also lead people to believe that it was finally happening. While not everyone believed that the new project would be the simulator, it was the majority consensus, or at the very least, wish.

What is Digimon Liberator?

YouTube | Digimon TCG JP

After replaying the original trailer, the promised December update was delivered with a new video. It called back to Digimon’s large history and pointed to its new direction.

Digimon Card Game “Digimon Liberator” is a Webcomic that will be released in spring 2024. More information is due in January. The trailer showcases the new male and female leads as well as their Partner Digimon, all without names. It briefly teases some expected antagonist Digimon and tamers as well.

This marks the second new Digimon story media in a non animated form. It also marks an entry into the TCG visual media, joining the likes of Yu-Gi-Oh! (YGO) and CardFight!! Vanguard (CFV). Both of which can link some of their meteoric success to accompanying animated media with memorable characters and plotlines.

What does this mean for the TCG?

The Digimon TCG already matches its product releases to other media quite well. The Digimon 02 movie received promo packs, as well as launching alongside the reveals for BT16 in Japan, which focused on the Digimon 02 movie’s cast and evolution lines.

Digimon Seekers content has already provided 3 consecutive Booster sets of content. So we expect to see the webcomic’s cast featured in future expansions. YGO and CFV have set the standard for showcasing new cards in their anime. Seeing the TCG played through a storytelling lens will be a great introduction for newcomers and drum up excitement for the product. Something some of the player-base’s biggest content creators have replicated to great success.